21 films about mental illness therapists recommend

[Magical Realist]

Seen maybe half of these. Ready to explore others to learn and deepen my compassion for the mental unwell...

"Mental illness in movies can be troublesome at times. Whether just completely inaccurate or done for shock value, Hollywood isn’t always kind when it comes to telling stories about mental illness. So we decided to chat to our own therapists to see what mental illness movies they recommended.

Below are 21 therapist-recommended movies about mental illness."

https://www.choosingtherapy.com/mental-health-movies/

[C C]

No surprise that the reckless or opportunistic classics aren't in there, like The Snake Pit, Lillith, The Three Faces of Eve, etc.

Though even films of the latter part of the 20th-century were sometimes criticized for conveying or spawning misconceptions:

"Rain Man is known, in particular, for its portrayal of a man with both autism and savant skills, leading much of its viewing audience to incorrectly assume the intellectual capabilities of autistic people at large."

[Magical Realist]

I remember watching the movie "Sybil" starring Sally Field on TV back in the 70's. Later it came out that the patient on whom the movie was based had made up all her personalities. We were so misinformed about mental illness by older movies. Tales of murderous lunatics escaping from asylums haunted our childhood. There just wasn't that much real understanding of it back then.